


cocky (until you're next to me)

by simplekalzone



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 7k words, Fluff, Hogwarts AU, ImAllexx - Freeform, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Quidditch, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, alex is ravenclaw, at some point, for fun, harry potter setting, kind of long, like loads, memeulous - Freeform, nd he plays chaser
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25035046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplekalzone/pseuds/simplekalzone
Summary: "Alex Elmslie dodges the bludger and flies past Micah with the quaffle, looking as dashing as ever."hogwarts au!! basically george commentates for quidditch and alex is a chaser.. george has no problem being flirty from far away, but whenever he gets close to alex he gets shy. again, this is for fun and completely self-indulgent!
Relationships: George Andrew/Alex Elmslie
Comments: 26
Kudos: 127





	cocky (until you're next to me)

**Author's Note:**

> i came up w this idea and was really excited to see it come to life because i LOVE hogwarts aus! sort of wish this came out better, but i had a fun time writing it, which is all that really matters, right.,,??
> 
> also, i can see all the boys in every house.. but for the purpose of this fic: alex and james are in ravenclaw, george is in slytherin, and will's a gryffindor!!!
> 
> (and im sorry about the many many scene changes/line dividers..)

"Alex Elmslie dodges the bludger and flies past Micah with the quaffle, looking as dashing as ever."

Thankfully, through years of being a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, Alex had learned to block out the (in his opinion) unnecessary commentary delivered by whatever idiot decided to volunteer to commentate their matches. Who would give so much unchecked power to a teenager, anyway?

So, as a result, Alex didn't register the latter end of the comment until he had successfully thrown the quaffle past the highest hoop. As he swooped back to celebrate with his teammates briefly, the commentator spoke up again.

"Wow, an incredible goal by the irresistible Alex Elmslie, moving the score thirty to twenty, Ravenclaw!"

As the students watching cheered and booed respectively, Alex tried searching the stands for the person who had now made two flirtatious comments about him. Was that not a breach of rules? Perhaps the guy was trying to distract Alex from scoring, maybe as a part of Gryffindor, the opposing team? And anyway, Alex thought comically, Gryffindors _were_ the only ones with the balls to flirt (whether serious or not) in front of an entire stadium.

However, Alex had never heard that voice before. It was clearly masculine, rather deep and unapologetic in a way that resonated throughout the field. Yet, at the same time, there was something about the guys voice that seemed good-natured, like time spent with him was full of laughs and cheery smiles. And yet Alex couldn't place it to save his life. Which was interesting, as Alex knew a lot of his fellow seventh year students, especially ones as outgoing as the commentator seemed to be.

Alex blinked harshly a few times, trying to find the culprit causing him to lose focus. Unfortunately, Alex's eyesight was rather poor, and in the area that usually housed the commentator and staff members remained blurry pixels.

Sighing, Alex shook his head and refocused on the game, hoping the commentator was done with his games. The game was super close, and Alex was determined to pull Ravenclaw out of the slump they had found themselves in the past couple years.

Before he could drown in his thoughts any longer, Alex suddenly felt someone fly past him, causing him to turn quickly and watch Gryffindor's captain, Shelly Cooper, speed towards their keeper, James Marriott.

Alex cursed quietly under his breath and followed suite, vaguely (but more so than before) aware of the commentator illustrating the events.

"Oh damn, there goes—, sorry professor, oh _darn,_ there goes Shelly Harper, Gryffindor captain, closing in on Ravenclaw keeper, James Marriott, in an attempt to tie the game up!"

But seconds later, right before Alex reached her, Shelly faked out James and lightly tossed the quaffle through the bottom hoop, smirking as flew back towards the center of the field while the audience lit up with approval.

As James went to fetch the ball, alex playfully shook his head disappointedly. "Really, James? That was a third year move, mate." He commented, watching as James flew back up with the quaffle tucked safely under his arm.

James rolled his eyes, but his smile as he threw the ball towards Alex showed how little he was bothered by the goal. "Sorry. Maybe if I had a personal fan club like you, I'd be playing a bit better." He raised an eyebrow, as if expecting Alex to have a single clue why some idiot was riling him up in front of the school.

Alex squinted at him, opening his mouth to retort when a loud whistle sounded from behind him.

"Yeah," The commentator chided. "We haven't gotten all day, Elmslie!"

Alex threw the quaffle towards the Quidditch referee, Professor Char, and tried his best to glare in the general direction of the commentator.

"We're lucky he's cute, right ladies?" The commentator added. Laughs and whistles surrounded the arena, causing Alex to heat up and quickly zip towards the center. What the fuck was going on?

One of their beaters, Henry, raised his eyebrows in his direction as he arrived in position. "You know that guy, Alex?" He asked, getting his bat into a ready position.

The whistle sounded again, causing the match to resume. Before jumping back into the action, Alex gave a shrug, shaking his head. "No fucking clue."

But he was really fucking curious.

____________________

Alex's eyes moved up and down the Gryffindor table, mentally creating a list of possible suspects that would fit the mold of the mysterious commentator.

He unconsciously unwrapped his muffin, his gaze never faltering from his new promising lead, Will Lenney, who was laughing loudly with a couple mates.

Alex took a small bite from the top of his (banana, not blueberry, unfortunately) muffin as he gathered all the information he could remember about this Will Lenney character, who was becoming more and more obnoxious as Alex watched from afar.

SUSPECT #8: WILL LENNEY

-seventh year (commentators were usually seventh years, responsible and whatnot)

-male (unless the perpetuator used a spell to change their voice, they were most likely male)

-a mate of james (screwing with alex as a prank?)

-seems confident (they must be confident if they--)

"Alex, mate, what the hell are you doing to that poor muffin?"

Alex snapped out of his focused trance and turned to James, who had been watching Alex casually rip apart his banana muffin into tiny clumps as he stared at the other side of the room in a concentrated stupor. Alex dropped the rest of his severely damaged muffin onto his plate and rubbed his hands on his pants, trying to revert his attention to Will Lenney, who was becoming more and more promising as he conducted his research.

But as Alex looked back up, all he could find was the empty seat that Will had previously occupied. He shrunk back into his seat, putting his head in his hands. "It was banana." Alex mumbled, referencing the pile of crumbs on his plate.

James picked up a muffin from the large platter between them, muttering a quick spell that changed the gross yellowish-brown chunks into lovely dark blue ones. Alex rolled his eyes, but grabbed the newly transformed blueberry muffin grudgingly from James' outstretched hand.

"I hate when you--,"

"Yeah, yeah." James muttered, waving at him dismissively. "You can't stand it when I use magic on food."

"It's not natural." Alex grumbled, turning back towards the Gryffindor table in hopes to continue his fruitless search for his eighth suspect.

"What about GMO's, huh?" James asked. "That's practically the same thing."

"That's science, not magic, dumbass."

"They're incredibly similar, dickhead." James retorted, reaching into the middle platter to pull out a banana muffin of his own. "What're you so focused on, anyway?"

Alex sighed and lowered his gaze back onto his muffin, dejectedly unwrapping it. "Remember last week's Quidditch match?"

James nodded, tilting his head to the side. "I played like shit, but at least Gabrielle caught the snitch before too much damage was done."

Alex let out a laugh while mirroring James' previous nod of agreement. Surprisingly to everyone, Ravenclaw had pulled a win against Gryffindor in the school's first Quidditch match of the year. All in all, it was an amazing game, but now that their celebration was over, Alex wanted, no, _needed_ , to figure out who the new commentator was. He'd probably have to deal with him all year, so, his desperation to know was slightly justified.

"Yeah, well, I've been trying to figure out who was commentating during our match." Alex said. He turned back to another group of riled up Gryffindors in a search for another suspect, one that hopefully wouldn't rudely leave in the middle of his investigation.

James snorted, shaking his head briefly. "Oh, the guy who was straight up flirting with you in the middle of the game?"

"No!" Alex exclaimed, glaring at James. "Not flirting. Screwing with me, more like." He grumbled. He picked off another part of his muffin and shoved it into his mouth. Even the soothing taste of his crispy blueberry muffin did nothing to lessen his annoyance.

"Sure," James said. "But anyway, just ask a professor, or something. Not everything is some convoluted mystery you have to solve."

"I—," Alex started, but as he mulled James' idea over, he couldn't find a valid rebuttal. Instead, he rolled his eyes, propping his head upon his hand and pouted. "Where's the Ravenclaw spirit in that, though?"

James opened his mouth to respond, probably with something equally as witty, when a large force slammed eagerly into the seat across from them.

Alex turned quickly to face none other than his eighth suspect, Will Lenney.

Will flashed a big smile, and before Alex had time to process literally anything, he began talking rapidly to James.

"Hello, mate!" He began, his hands waving around rapidly, unfortunately for the people sitting nearby. "I was talking to Professor what's her face about our Charms paper, because, honestly, that shit's way too long, and I convinced her to reduce it a couple inches!

"Ugh," James groaned, "I already fucking finished it last night."

Alex laughed, momentarily forgetting about his predicament to be glad he wasn't in Charms with the absurd amount of work James complained about constantly. Yet, he was always enthralled with his work, working diligently as to finish days before it was due. Whenever Alex made fun of him for it, James feverishly denied it, claiming it was too cliche for a Ravenclaw.

However, Will only smiled bigger after James' revelation. "That's wicked, man! I can use _my_ charms to make her give us extra credit!"

Alex patted James' shoulder condescendingly. "It's what you get for ditching me last night to finish it in the library."

James just scoffed and shoved Alex's hand off of his shoulder. Will, on the other hand, turned towards Alex with newfound interest, his eyes sparkling with undeniable mischief.

"Oi, you must be the famous Alex Elmslie! I've heard loads about you, man."

Alex laughed and nudged James' lightly. "Been talking me up, have you?"

"Oh," Will interjected, "Not him. Just, uhm, another mate of mine."

Despite Will's nonchalant delivery, Alex perked up at the words. Who among Will's friends was talking about Alex, a least more than the average amount one would talk about a classmate?

"Huh? Who's talking about Alex in their free time?" James asked incredulously, earning a jab to the side and a strong eye roll.

"Fuck. Shit." Will whispered under his breath, shaking his head. "Sorry guys, gotta go to, uhm, Potions."

And with those last few shaky words, Will jumped up from his seat and walked quickly to the entrance of the main hall, his gait resembling a student with too much pent up energy.

Alex watched him leave, his eyes following Will's retreating figure until he ran into one of his friends and doubled over laughing. His friend, who did not seem to be amused, dragged him away.

Once Will was officially gone, Alex turned to James, who was finishing off his muffin as he flipped through pages of a worn down textbook.

"Seriously?" Alex said, eyebrows narrowing. "That didn't strike you as weird, like, at all?"

James shrugged, reading in silence for a few seconds before looking back up at the confused and distraught Alex. "Will's strange. He does and says strange stuff. I don't take it to heart, usually."

Alex sighed and slumped back into his seat. "You're no help at all, ever."

Alex heard James turn a page. "I'm not indulging this new obsession in the Quidditch commentator."

"I'm not obsessed!" Alex yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm just curious, is all." He said, lowering his voice.

Minutes later, after James had successfully finished his muffin, the pair gathered their belongings and strolled out of the great hall. James was on his way to Charms ("With Will!" Alex argued, shuffling past a particular bunch of rowdy first years. "He was lying about going to Potions, I have that later in the day, isn't that sketchy?") and Alex to Herbology.

Before they parted ways, James clapped Alex on the back roughly, causing Alex to look up in surprise.

"Just, don't do that thing where you obsess over a problem and go to every end of the earth to solve it. We've got a game in a couple weeks, and we need our chaser in prime state. Plus, you get less sleep, which is just annoying as your friend."

Alex rolled his eyes (for what seemed like the sixth or seventh time this morning, a new record perhaps) and pushed James away. "Fuck off, I don't obsess over things."

James looked at him in shock, opening and closing his mouth a few times before shaking his head adamantly. "I don't have time to pull up a slideshow, but later tonight I'll write out a full fucking list of all the times you couldn't let go of something." James laughed and then walked off, leaving Alex to scoff playfully at the now empty corridor.

Alex began to walk towards the direction of his Herbology class, located out on the fields, while thinking of his encounter with Will.

Even though the entire interaction was confusing, bringing up more questions than answers, it solved one thing for him:

Will was definitely not the commentator. Completely different voices. Will was far too chirpy, while the mysterious commentator had a more calming tone. He ought to make a physical list of all his suspects instead of trying to maintain the intangible one in his mind. But for now, he could cross out Will Lenney, suspect eight, in his mind, which was a step closer in the right direction.

Fuck. Maybe he was obsessive.

But it was a strange situation to be in! Therefore, with all things considered, he was _allowed_ to be. And if this guy was going to be messing with his mind for the entire year, he had a fucking right to know.

_______________

James sidled up to Alex as he walked down to the Quidditch pitch. It had been a couple of weeks since their first game against Gryffindor, and now they were playing Slytherin, an easier but in no way easy game.

Alex rubbed his eyes groggily, shifting his broom from one hand to the other.

"Did you hear about last week's game?" James asked.

Alex nodded absently. "Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff?"

James nodded energetically, causing Alex to raise an eyebrow towards him in confusion. Neither of them attended the game, as both were engrossed with work from many of their classes (seventh year was hitting them pretty hard). However, Alex heard from the grapevine that Hufflepuff had won, making Ravenclaw's victory a bit less shocking.

But that was a week ago, and everyone had found other things to dwell on.

"Yeah, well, I was talking to Will in Charms yesterday, and he told me that the commentator didn't say anything strange during the game." James said, arching an eyebrow.

They reached the end of the path and entered the Quidditch changing rooms. As they walked deeper into the room, Alex nodded and smiled at passing teammates, all of whom looked more confident than usual from their previous win.

Once he reached a secluded bench in the corner, Alex turned to face James, who was looking at him in anticipation. After a few seconds in which Alex remained quiet, James sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Mate, he's clearly only doing... whatever it exactly is he's doing, with you! Therefore, my claim stands correct. He's definitely flirting with you."

"Fucking hell." Alex muttered, turning around and placing his broom on the bench. "First of all, would you keep your voice down? Practically shouting it to the heavens."

James laughed, throwing his cloak over his head and placing it down. "Like he's not already doing that himself."

" _Secondly_ ," Alex drawled, "For a Ravenclaw, you sure are fucking dense. He probably got reprimanded for, for bullying or something, I don't know. Which is amazing news for me!" Alex exclaimed. "I don't have to put up with it anymore!"

"That's a possibility, I guess." James mumbled, strapping his knee pads on. His head was ducked, indicating to Alex that he wasn't wearing his superior smirk, making Alex resume one instead.

James looked back up, immediately scowling when he saw the look upon Alex's face. "Oh, bugger off."

Alex's smirk only deepened. He stuck out a hand to help James get up, and then patted him on the shoulder, trying to be as condescending as possible. "Don't worry, James. You can't be right all the time."

"I'm not wrong!" James countered, playfully pushing Alex away from him. "It's just a possibility. Got to weigh all possibilities, you know."

Alex snorted, grabbing his broom. "And I'm the obsessive one?"

"Fuck off, then."

______________

Alex and James sat near the burning fireplace, the empty common room a drastic change from half an hour ago when the high of Ravenclaw's second Quidditch victory was seen through an insane celebration. Decorations littered the entirety of the room— from windows and cages to the lonesome statue in the corner of the room.

Alex was reading through a chapter of his Potions textbook, studying ahead for the incoming lesson. Besides the occasional flip of a page, the only other sound that could be heard within the room was the scratching of various quills hard at work. Most students had gone to bed, but some, like Alex, couldn't seem to resist the charm of a quiet night near the fire.

"Can I say it?" James whispered.

When Alex turned to him in confusion, James continued writing as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"What are you on about?"

James sighed, but the smirk slowly inching its way on to his face twisted the insides of Alex's stomach. He put his quill down and leaned on his hands, smiling up at Alex. "You know. That four word phrase. I told—,"

Alex groaned and pushed James away. "Piss off, mate."

"No, I'm definitely allowed to say it after you incorrectly tried to correct me earlier." James said, his voice raising with every word.

Alex shushed him before another in the room could. After James simply looked back at him, Alex shoved his head into his textbook and pretended to read.

"I'm going to say it whether you're listening or not."

Alex shut his book harshly and threw it onto the seat next to him. He couldn't fucking concentrate on the many uses of the Girding potion when James was being an asshat next to him.

When Alex didn't say anything, James took it as his cue.

"I fucking _told_ you so, mate."

Alex pouted and crossed his arms. "That's six words, _mate_."

James disregarded the snide remark completely. "I mean, the idiot is only doing it to you, Alex! I've gotta find out who this kid is, he's a fucking genius. What'd he say earlier, when you stole the ball from that one guy?"

Alex attempted an unconcerned shrug to hide the blossoming blush rushing up his neck. "I don't know, something about the snitch or whatever."

James shook his head giddily, like he was fucking getting off on Alex's embarrassment. "No, no, it was something like, like, 'Alex, are you the snitch? Because I've been, been—," James broke off, his laughter filling up the room." "Been seeking you my whole l-life'."

Alex felt his face continue to heat up as he remembered hearing the commentator use a fucking Quidditch themed pick-up line during the first ten minutes of the game. Alex had never truly desired to fly from the school grounds until then.

Alex stood up abruptly and made his way towards the entrance of the common room. Once hearing James question this sudden movement, he turned back, sticking his tongue out childishly.

"Going for a walk." He answered. Before receiving an answer or a sound of affirmation, Alex quickly stepped into the hallway. He cursed quietly, as he was reminded by the darkness of the hallway that it was extremely late at night, and technically he wasn't supposed to be wandering around.

But Alex was a bit too riled up to give a shit. Muttering a quick incantation to light up the tip of his wand, he made his way down the corridor, dimly aware of the annoyed portraits complaining about being woken at such an hour.

Minutes passed by, and the longer Alex found himself walking, the colder it was getting. As he distantly wondered whether the steadily dropping temperatures was a new form of punishment for students like him walking the corridors past curfew, a force slammed into him from the front, causing him to fall backwards onto his butt.

Utterly confused (and, in all honesty, a bit terrified), Alex sat up and squinted at the body groaning next to him. Alex's wand, while still lit up, was lying several feet away, making it difficult for him to discern who it was.

"Sorry." The boy mumbled, shuffling around. "Was going a bit fast on the corner there, didn't see you."

Before Alex had the chance to respond, reassure the stranger that it wasn't really a big deal, a lightbulb went off in his head. Because even though the voice he heard wasn't amplified by a microphone, it was unmistakably the same as the mysterious commentator.

"Huh?" Alex said unintelligibly, still trying to process the overwhelming information he just absorbed.

He felt the boy move around next to him, and suddenly everything got much lighter.

"Here's your wand, mate—," The boy grunted, turning to face Alex, effectively lighting up the space between the two boys.

Alex was immediately struck with how good-looking the boy holding his wand was. His blue eyes and curly hair illuminated his features beautifully, making Alex suddenly hope that the playful flirting _was_ real.

Alex glanced down at the boys clothes to see worn down, green and silver pajamas. Slytherin, then.

He looked back up to find the guy staring back at him in horror, eyes widened and face flushed. The mysterious stranger dropped Alex's wand in surprise, causing it to roll back to where it previously lied. The darkness enveloped them again.

"Fuck." The boy muttered, backing up and away from Alex, who watched him, dumbfounded. "Sorry, Alex— shit, uhm, I mean, mate. I, uh—,"

But before the boy could turn around and escape, Alex reached out and grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him closer. "Wait!" He said, squinting as he attempted to read the face before him, hidden in the dark. "You're the, the fucking guy! At Quidditch!" He exclaimed, releasing the boy, hoping not to seem overly excited.

The boy shook his head fiercely. "No clue what you're on about. I hate Quidditch." His eyes widened again, looking back at Alex as if he had offended him. "Well, I don't hate it, I, uhm, I... I'm no good, and—," He swallowed thickly, stepping backwards hesitantly. "Uhm, yeah. Sorry, again."

Alex stared back, watching in dismay as the boy turned and bolted away, down the hallway he had come from.

After a few minutes of sitting amongst the silence, Alex grudgingly rose and slowly walked back towards his dormitory.

A Slytherin.

A _cute_ one.

He flushed again as he remembered his voice, a sound which he was so used to hearing echo throughout a stadium, whispering right next to him.

A new sense of desperation flooded through him, more powerful than before. Now that he had a physical face to couple with the voice that had been haunting his dreams, he felt determined to talk to him again, find out a name at least.

And he was going to. No matter how long it would take him. Whether it takes days, weeks, or months.

However, it took less than a day for Alex to see him again.

Because the next afternoon, as Alex slipped sneakily into his Potions class (he was late, so what?), he looked around to find the only empty seat next to none other than the boy in question.

He walked quietly towards the table, noticing how all of the students were concentrated on cauldrons, shared in the middle of two of them. Alex watched as the mysterious Slytherin held something hesitantly over the cauldron, reading from his opened textbook.

Alex, once making it to the table, apprehensively placed his belongings on the floor. He stood back up, turning to face the boy, lost in his own work.

Alex cleared his throat to make his presence known. Most of him was still shocked; by his luck of stumbling upon the boy so soon, and how he had never noticed the cute boy in his potions class before.

The boy glanced at him briefly before returning his gaze to his textbook. Before Alex could become hurt by the nonchalance, the boy did a double take and dropped what he was holding into the cauldron, causing the contents to splash on the table.

Alex stifled a laugh as the boy muttered a few curses, watching in horror as the contents turned from a clear liquid into a deep, violent purple.

"Fucking hell," he mumbled. The purple (now teetering on black) liquid started to foam and rise, causing the boy to back up.

"George, what on earth happened here?" Alex heard, looking up to find the professor walking towards them. Alex turned to the boy, _George_ , who was blushing and stumbling over his words.

"Well, you have more than enough time to start again. And, now that your partner has finally showed up," Their professor remarked, giving Alex a pointed look, "He can help you read the clearly printed instructions."

"Sorry, professor." Alex mumbled. Their professor simply returned a smile and with a flourish of his wand, the cauldron cleared completely.

Alex stared at George next to him, thoroughly startled by the weirdness of his entire life. Here was the boy who had flirted with him during Quidditch games, standing next to him, looking brilliantly red.

Alex's luck had truly never been this good.

"Uhm," George spoke up. He kept his gaze fixated on the now empty cauldron. "You should probably deal with the, uhm, directions. 'M not quite, uh, that great at the, the measurements."

Alex nodded silently, bending down to grab his book.

"You can just use mine, mate." George interjected, placing it in front of Alex haphazardly, still not looking at him. "No need for you to get it out, and whatever."

Alex smiled to himself before replying. "Sounds good, thank you. George."

The pair worked together in complete silence, only broken by the occasional instruction and clarification given by Alex. George's movements were rigid and uncomfortable, as if this was his first time crushing a beetle or stirring a potion.

The silence was strengthening, causing Alex to shift around. Alex watched as George stirred the liquid without enthusiasm, his desperation to speak building with every second. Not allowing himself to overthink his words, Alex opened his mouth and spoke quickly.

"Are we just going to ignore what happened last night?"

George jumped, nudging the cauldron slightly. He continued to stir, not looking at Alex.

"What happened?"

"Do you always act confused when someone confronts you?" Alex asked, peering at the boy next to him.

George let out a laugh despite himself, halting in his mixing to _finally_ face Alex. "Sorry, just... I deflect when I'm nervous, I guess."

Alex let the warmth from the words flood his body. "I'm making you nervous? Keep stirring or you'll fuck up the potion again."

George made a sound of surprise once he realized he hadn't been mixing, and immediately started again. This time, however, he kept eye contact with Alex.

"I don't see how I could possibly make you nervous." Alex said, raising an eyebrow in a teasing manner. "You seem quite confident during my matches."

George's face reddened again (just as it was recovering from earlier), his stirring stopping for just a second. "Ah, well," He began, his choppy movements indicating his insecurity. "You feel like a different person above the ground. All unstoppable and shit. The professors aren't really a fan, but, the students seem to think it's entertaining."

Alex nodded, agreeing while feeling slightly disappointed. So, it really was just a big joke. Alex's throat suddenly felt dry, and he felt a lot less confident than he was when he originally spotted George at the beginning of class.

"You enjoy commentating games, then?" Alex asked, lowering his gaze from George to the textbook in front of him, thumbing the pages idly.

George seemed to contemplate the question, shifting around a bit. "Yeah, uhm, it has its ups and downs. Mostly fun, although my mate can be a bit of a knob 'bout it."

Alex nodded, unknowingly encouraging George to keep talking.

"But, the best part of the gig has probably been, uh, getting closer to, uhm, certain people."

Alex's gaze hardened, and he flipped to the next page. He tried not to embody the disappointment and frustration he was feeling, as he usually prided himself on running off of logic, rather than emotions. However, the idea of George flirting with him during Quidditch but running off to someone else, who he must've gotten closer to while Alex was trying to figure out who George was, well, the whole idea was making him a bit angry.

"That's enough stirring. You can pour it into the vials, now." Alex mumbled, not daring to look back up at George and help. He didn't want anyone to see the hurt lingering in his eyes.

"Oh, uh, okay." George replied, and Alex distantly heard him swallow.

"Sorry, uhm, if I—,"

_Gave the wrong impression? Flirted even though I'm actually interested in someone else?_

"Don't worry about it." Alex interrupted, not wanting to hear his embarrassing excuse/rejection. George nodded jerkily next to him, capping the vials.

As George got up to turn in their potion, Alex gathered his belongings. With one last look at George, who was being clapped harshly but friendly on the back by their professor, Alex walked out of the classroom, not seeing the dejected gaze of the boy who was rubbing his back.

_____________

Alex slowly flew into the air, letting the encouraging screams echo around him.

James gave him one last cheeky thumbs up before flying over to the goal set, causing Alex to seek his rightful position as well.

They were playing Slytherin in what was coined a legendary match, a battle of the brains even (only called by the two houses playing, of course), but Alex couldn't focus on the actual Quidditch itself.

While he had been doing his absolute best to avoid George during Potions, he couldn't help but miss him, which was stupid since they had a total of two conversations.

Even if it was just a joke, Alex yearned to hear George's flirtatious comments again.

However, as the whistle was blown and the quaffle launched into the air, a new voice was heard speaking into the microphone, making Alex turn to the speaker and forget the ball.

"—Oh, a bummer for Ravenclaw as Elmsie gets distracted and loses the—,"

Suddenly, the match felt a lot less important. 

Despite the screaming from his teammates, Alex turned to James with an incredulous face. James shrugged back at him, his face full of sympathy.

Fuck. He didn't have time to mourn boys, even if they showed special interest in you before disregarding you completely. No time.

But once the game finished (Slytherin won, pushing Alex's sour mood even further), the two boys were walking back up to the castle, and Will Lenney was coming towards them, Alex realized he now had plenty of time.

Will jogged over, giving both of them fist bumps and wishy washy bullshit of giving a good effort. After James and Will caught up a bit, Alex couldn't seem to hold his tongue any longer.

"Do you know that George fellow, in Slytherin?"

Will, taken aback by the transition in conversations, nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's like my best mate."

"Why didn't he... where was he today? He usually commentates, yeah?" Alex asked, shifting from foot to foot. His attempt to conceal the desperation practically leaking from his words sounded pathetic, even to him.

Will smirked, then quickly neutralized his face. "Oh, yeah, that _is_ weird. He, uh, didn't mention anything to me. Surprised he didn't even come and watch." Will said, trailing off and looking past them, as if expecting to see George waving from the stands.  
"Why? Miss him?" He finished, resuming his previous smirk.

Alex scoffed, but his blush and James' knowing smile contradicted him. "No. Finally some peace and quiet." He argued weakly, watching his foot kick a small rock below.

Will nodded understandingly, smiling wider than ever. "Well, lads, nice seeing you. I've got to run, but, have a terrific day."

Once Will ran away, the two boys resumed walking up the gravelly path.

"I can't believe you have a fucking crush on him now." James said.

Alex gasped, as if offended by the mere proposition. "That's a vile lie to spread around, James. I most definitely do _not_ like George. He is annoying, two-faced, and can't even make a proper potion without assistance."

James hummed next to him, clearly amused by Alex's denial, which was just unnecessary, really.

"Sod off."

"I didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, but I could practically hear your fucking thoughts, mate."

_____________

Alex contained a dreary sigh as he watched his fellow students file into the Potions classroom. By some miracle, he had gotten to class earlier than everyone else, and was now reduced to searching for his friend, Lewis, to be his partner for the day.

Yes. He was most certainly looking out for Lewis, and not anyone else. Nobody, other than Lewis, of course. Uh huh.

But as the seconds ticked by, tables filled up, and Lewis (just Lewis) was nowhere to be seen. Soon, students stopped filtering in all together, and their professor shut the door.

No Lewis. And, fuck it, no George. Alex turned around grumpily, staring at the empty cauldron on his table.

However, as soon as their professor wrote the page of their textbook they'd be using in class today, Alex heard the door creak open. He turned hastily, to see George hesitantly peek his head through the crack, eyes searching the classroom.

"Ah, George! Thank you for joining us." Their professor boomed, chuckling to himself. "Why don't you take the empty spot next to Alex."

Alex's throat immediately dried, but he smiled softly at the boy at the door. George, in turn, looked extremely uncomfortable with this proposition, eyes searching as if another empty table would magically appear. Alex's smile faltered, and he turned to face forward before he could reveal too much with his eyes. Fuck. Although before Alex was dying to see the boy again, he now wished he were anywhere but here.

Their professor resumed writing the assignment, droning out instructions as George casually walked up to Alex's side and put his stuff down. A strong feeling of déjà vu swept over him, but he remained still to appear unaffected.

With a snap and a "Get to it!", the Potions class was allowed to start brewing with their partner, first needing to collect all the ingredients. Before Alex had a chance to speak up, George mummers softly next to him, "I've got it."

Alex nodded jerkily and stayed in his seat. Although he willed himself not to, Alex watched as George and other students gathered what they needed. A rather tall boy nudged George and said something, causing George to laugh and reply. Alex felt his heart ache at how friendly and effortlessly cool George acted around other people.

A few minutes later, George walked back to their table, arms full of distinct smelling glasses and other random knickknacks. He carefully placed them on the table and cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Should, uhm, should you read the instructions again while I, uh—,"

"Sure." Alex interrupted.

"Awesome." George mumbled, sliding next to Alex. Alex did his best not to be overwhelmed by their proximity and the smell of George, because how creepy was that?

After a few minutes of awkward silence and the occasional curse from George when he encountered a particular ingredient, Alex felt the need to speak up. He took a deep breath, fixing his gaze on the beetles George was crushing on a tray.

"Why were you late today?" Alex asked. While it wasn't quite the question he wanted to ask, talking made him feel better.

George, who always got startled by Alex, jumped slightly and paused his work. "Oh! Uhm," He began, resuming the half-crushed beetle, "Got held up at, uh, Muggle Studies, so..."

Alex nodded, containing the smile that desperately wanted to jump out at the thought of George being enraptured with muggles enough to take it his last year. It was, well, pretty adorable.

"Oh, next you want to take that silver liquid and pour it into the potion." Alex said, pointing to a tall and thin glass with a bubbling, silver interior.

"Fuck, that doesn't look safe." George laughed. Alex laughed with him, causing George to face him and beam, forgetting the glass. Once Alex's laughter died down, George ducked, ran a hand through his hair quickly, and grabbed the glass, uncapping it.

"Oh, shit," He groaned, coughing. "Smells like rotten milk." He shoved it into Alex's face, who scrunched his nose instinctively and shook his head.

"I don't fucking want it!" Alex cried, swatting it away. "Just pour it in!"

"All of it?" George asked, laughing.

Alex nodded furiously, hiding his face behind the textbook. "Definitely!"

George poured the entirety of the glass in, and both watched as the contents turned to a deep red.

"That never gets tiring." George sighed, staring in awe.

"Yeah." Alex agreed. He took a deep breath. "George, can I ask you something?"

George immediately tensed up, his smile tightening as he nodded at Alex. "Uh, sure. Anything."

Alex stared at the cauldron for a couple seconds to build up the courage before replying. "Why weren't you at my game last weekend?" He asked in a small voice, his hands fiddling together.

In all honesty, it was such a stupid question to ask. George had no obligations to continue commentating for Alex, or at all. It wasn't a job, and someone else covered for him, so why would it be a big deal?

But Alex was desperate. George made him desperate, and feel out of control, something that he wasn't used to feeling in regards to education.

"Well, uhm, you clearly— wait, are you, like, upset that I wasn't there?"

Alex looked up to see George looking back, puzzlement etched upon his face. Alex's face warmed up at the question, knowing the answer would be embarrassing to admit.

"Yeah? I just..." He sighed, turning away from George again. "At first it was quite annoying, but, then... and, I know it's just a joke to you, so this is super weird for you—," Alex rambled, his leg fidgeting sporadically under the table.

"Wait, pause." George interjected, putting his hands up. "I... I thought you were, uhm, properly creeped out by me? So, I thought you'd want me to leave you alone, and like, not commentate your matches."

Alex, startled by the dramatic shift in their conversation, faced George again, who was smiling uneasily, his cheeks dusted pink.

"Fuck, really?" Alex asked, laughing slightly. "I, no, I wasn't. It was... nice. But then you said it was for, like, entertainment purposes? Like, as a joke? Which makes it weird because it wasn't a joke to me, I guess." Alex trailed off, ruffling his hair.

George let out a startled laugh, making Alex's frown deepen. "Shit." George said, controlling himself, "I'm not laughing at you or anything, It's just. It was not a joke to me Alex. Granted, I could've expressed my interest in a far better way, but... as you've seen, being around you makes me proper nervous."

Now it was Alex's turn to laugh, mostly at the absurdity of the situation that had unfolded between them. "So, not a joke?" The cauldron between them lied forgotten.

George shook his head firmly. "Not a joke." A beat of silence passed between them. "Unless you want it to be a joke?" He asked, uncertainty in his words.

Alex mirrored George's earlier head-shake. "Definitely not."

They sat together, letting the silence envelope them. Alex watched in a dazed like state as George beamed at him, wanting to stay in the moment forever.

"Shit." George mumbled, rubbing his face. "This has got to be a dream."

Alex laughed heartily, his smile doubling. "Fuck, I hope it's real. I can't believe I've never noticed you before."

George leaned on his propped up hand next to their cauldron. "I'm impressed you never noticed the creepy guy who couldn't take his eyes off of you."

Alex's face warmed up. "Jesus, I thought I made you nervous? Getting bold, huh?"

"Sorry, but you sort of gave me a confidence boost, you know, with saying you _liked_ when I delivered cheesy pick up lines to you." George retorted. Alex giggled softly to himself, nodding along. Fair point.

"We need to get back to this potion." Alex said, his smile disappearing. Despite his love of brewing potions, Alex simply wanted to get lost in George's presence; alas, they had an assignment to complete.

George groaned but lifted himself from his relaxed position. "Fine. This is what I get for liking a Ravenclaw."

Alex rolled his eyes and snorted.

Minutes full of rattled off instructions (via Alex) with occasional longing looks (via both parties) passed by. As Alex watched George inspect a vial, he quickly reached out and grabbed a hold of his free hand.

George let out a small noise of surprise and shot Alex a bewildered look, his face blushing brilliantly. "What," He cleared his throat and looked pointedly at their clasped hands, "What's happening?"

"I'm holding your hand, I think."

Despite the obviousness of Alex's statement, George's eyes widened. "W-Why?"

"Oh," Alex mumbled, loosening his grip.

"No!" George exclaimed, tightening his grasp on Alex's hand. "I didn't ask you to stop. Just, just curious."

Alex resumed his shy grin. "I, uhm, wanted to kiss you, or something, but we can't, so." He held up their hands. "Next best thing."

George's widened eyes remained startlingly opened. "Fucking hell, Elmsie. You're going to kill me."

"Oh, well, in that case I should let go, I don't want you to—,"

"Fuck that." George said. "I'm never letting go."

_______________

"Testing, testing! One, two, three, Alex is really pretty, one, two—,"

It was thirty minutes before the first tournament game, the stands practically empty while each team practiced basic drills on their side of the pitch.

Alex was tossing a quaffle back and forth with James when he first started hearing George "test" the microphone. He rolled his eyes despite the fondness he felt rippling within him.

James laughed, momentarily holding the quaffle under his arm. "Will told me he hasn't stopped smiling."

He threw the ball back, putting force into it. Alex barely had time to catch it, latching onto James' previous words. "What're you on about?"

"George." James said, tilting his head towards the stands. "Can't believe his juvenile wooing tactics worked on you."

Alex rolled his eyes, throwing the quaffle back as hard as he could, away from James. James watched it fall, sighing obnoxiously loud.

"While you go get that, I have to go check on something." Alex called out.

"I'm only letting you go because I _know_ you're going to talk to George." James yelled, shooting him a profane gesture before diving after the quaffle.

Alex smiled to himself, turning and flying towards the most secluded stand among the stadium. He slowly flew towards it, watching as George fiddled with the scoring box in front of him.

Surprisingly, there were no professors in sight.

"Hello." Alex called, hovering a few feet above George.

George looked up, a smile illuminating his face. "Alex!" He exclaimed. "Come to get a kiss for good luck?"

Alex giggled and flew to George's level, still balancing on his broom. "From my number one supporter." Alex said, nodding.

George pulled him forward with a gentle tug on his Quidditch uniform, connecting their lips. Alex smiled into the kiss, disconnecting and reconnecting to his heart's content.

"A professor'll come soon." Alex mumbled.

George let go of Alex and stepped back, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "If that doesn't give you good luck, I don't know what will."

Alex remembered when George could barely speak to him without fumbling over his words or blushing madly. But the more time they spent together, whether brewing potions in class or walking hand in hand to Hogsmeade with their friends, the more confident George became around him. It was like watching a flower blossom; the plant was rather pretty before, but watching it bloom and open before you was another experience.

Alex hummed, shrugging. "Not sure how long it'll last, though..."

"Well," George said, "You know where to find me."

Alex decided that putting up with George's remarks all year would be worth it. Even if people looked at him funny, even if it threw him off his game _just a little bit_ , even if Will and James teased him about it constantly. It was all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! if anyone has any prompts or whatever to write for the boys lemme know, i could use some ideas :-D


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